Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

Wal-Mart Asks Supreme Court to Review Huge Class Action

By Nancy Williams Last April, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the green light to a nationwide sex discrimination class action against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the nation’s largest employer. Unwilling to permit the suit to proceed without a further challenge, Wal-Mart has now petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit the class certification […]

The CA Specials: Travel Time, Tools, Uniforms, Stubs

“In the US, nearly 13 lawsuits are filed every minute, and sometimes it seems as if most of them are in California,” says attorney Christopher C. Hoffman. Some special California rules that confuse HR managers are those around travel pay, deductions for tools, required uniforms, and pay stubs.

Encouraging Employees to Leave When There’s Nothing in the File

Terminations, and “requests” for resignation are delicate moments for all HR managers. Expert Paul Falcone offers advice about how to handle these tricky questions, and we introduce an all-answers-in-one-place HR website. Falcone, a prolific writer on HR topics and a popular speaker, is VP, Employee Relations, at Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles. He is […]

Hot List: Wall Street Journal’s Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan on August 23. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? […]

HRDA Interview: Are Scanned Documents Legal in Court?

By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Just My E-pinion Scanned documents are legal, says attorney Catherine Moreton Gray, but you must be careful and consistent in your procedures if you want to be sure they’ll hold up in court. Gray, an attorney with Robinson & Cole in Hartford, Connecticut, answered HRDA’s questions during a recent interview. […]

Walking the Tightrope of State and Federal FMLA

In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured examples of state and federal family and medical leave (FML) interactions. Today, we’ll look at some critical considerations plus take a look at the “FMLA Bible.” Here are today’s major considerations regarding interplay between state and federal FML law: Intermittent Leave Many of the state FML laws do not provide […]

With State Family Leave laws, Brace Yourself for Double Dipping

If your state has its own family and medical leave (FML) law, in some circumstances employees may be able to take both leaves, one after the other, and there’s nothing you can do about it. To deal with federal/state family leave issues, the first step is to determine which laws apply to you as a […]

Fines for Non-Compliance Add Up Fast in California

Penalties for noncompliance with California wage and hour laws can add up surprisingly fast, says attorney Christopher C. Hoffman. And it’s surprisingly easy to run afoul of California‘s many tricky requirements. (See yesterday’s CED to read Hoffman’s tips on rest periods and meal breaks in California.)

Party+Alcohol=Harassment+Liability

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered the alcohol-related challenges of company social events; today we’ll examine harassment and injury issues and take a look at a unique program that “writes” your policy for social activities and dozens of other critical HR policies. Sexual Harassment at Social Functions Courts in many states have found that unwanted sexual […]